Tough time continues...Nifty closes below 8,600

BSE Metal index lost 0.9%. Commenting on the same, Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL, said, “Metal stocks were down due to the MMRDA bill passed by Rajya Sabha. The bill proposes an increase in royalty payments over the mineral mined by the metal players. This would be negative for companies like Tata Steel, SAIL, Hind Zinc etc. Over the long term, companies like JSW STEEL which does not have any captive iron ore resources would be benefited by the sale of mines by the government”.

The market declined for third straight trading session on account of selling pressure in auto, banking, metal and FMCG stocks. ICICI Bank in particular was the chief dragger in the index, the stock alone accounted for a loss of 75 points on the BSE index and 18 points on the NSE Nifty. FMCG majors - ITC and Hindustan Unilever were the other laggards. The duo accounted for a loss of 56 points on the Sensex and 14 points on the Nifty.

The market has been susceptible to selling pressure off late on fears of capital flight, as sooner-or-later the US Federal Reserve will start hiking interest rates. Next week, the focus will shift on the futures and options expiry.

BSE Metal index lost 0.9%. Commenting on the same, Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL, said, “Metal stocks were down due to the MMRDA bill passed by Rajya Sabha. The bill proposes an increase in royalty payments over the mineral mined by the metal players. This would be negative for companies like Tata Steel, SAIL, Hind Zinc etc. Over the long term, companies like JSW STEEL which does not have any captive iron ore resources would be benefited by the sale of mines by the government”.

The Sensex this morning started the day on a flat note at 28,465, but thereafter exhibited volatile movement albeit a negative bias. The BSE index touched a low of 28,210 towards the fag end of the day, and finally ended with a loss of 209 points at 28,261.

In the process, the BSE benchmark index has shed 475 points in the last three trading sessions, and is down 242 points for the week.

The NSE Nifty slumped to a low of 8,553, its lowest level since 10 February, and eventually settled with a loss of 64 points at 8,571.

The India VIX (Volatility) index plunged over 6 per cent to 14.26.

The broader market ended with heavier losses. The CNX Midcap index shed 1.5 per cent at 13,013, and the Smallcap index crashed 2.7 per cent to 5,532.

The CNX Realty index tanked nearly 4 per cent to 218.05, and the FMCG index slumped over 2 per cent to 20,000. The Bank Nifty, Auto, Infra, Metal and Pharma indices were down around a per cent each at 18,606, 8,586, 3,204, 2,366 and 12,622, respectively. The CNX IT index, however, ended with a gain of 0.7 per cent at 12,364.

The breadth too was extremely negative, with nearly four declining stocks for every single advancing share on the NSE.

NTPC was the biggest percentage loser in the Nifty-50, after the stock price was adjusted for the bonus debentures. The company will issue debentures worth Rs. 10,307 crore with the face value of Rs. 12.5 each for every shareholder holding an equity share. The stock today slumped to a low of Rs. 142 and ended with a loss of 6 per cent at Rs. 146.

ICICI Bank was down for the second straight day. The stock dropped 3.3 per cent to Rs. 319 after the bank sold its profit-making Russian subsidiary ICICI Bank Eurasia Limited Liability Company (IBEL) to Sovcombank.

Mahindra & Mahindra and Asian Paints also plunged nearly 3 per cent each to Rs. 1,172 and Rs. 811, respectively.

On the other hand, Wipro surged nearly 3 per cent to Rs. 653. The company has bagged a five-year deal from US-based Greater Cincinnati Water Works. Wipro is also in race for Sebi's fraud detection system upgrade. Further, the company also got respite from a legal victory as Karnataka High Court has allowed it to set off taxes paid in the US. Infosys advanced 1.5 per cent to Rs. 2,264.

Power Grid Corporation rallied over 2 per cent to Rs. 149. Ambuja Cements, Kotak Bank and Cairn India were up over a per cent each at Rs. 255, Rs. 1,342 and Rs. 225, respectively.

Among other stocks - Sugar stocks were under selling pressure following reports of higher output in Maharashtra. Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, Dhampur Sugar, Dwarikesh Sugar, Shree Renuka Sugars, Sakthi Sugars and Simbhaoli Sugars were some of the stocks to hit a fresh 52-week low today.

UPL soared to a high of Rs. 436 in early deals on reports of acquiring 40 per cent equity stake in Brazilian firm Sinagro group for an undisclosed amount. The stock, however, plunged into red thereafter and ended 2.6 per cent lower at Rs. 417.

Ajanta Pharma rallied over 2 per cent to touch a high of Rs. 1,256 in morning trade after turning ex-split. The company had fixed 23 March, 2015, as the record date for the proposed stock split, wherein each share with a face value of Rs. 5 will be sub-divided to a face value of Rs. 2 each. The stock however ended with a huge loss 8 per cent at Rs. 1,132.

Indian Hotels was in focus on buzz that its prestigious Hotel 'Taj Mansingh' will soon be auctioned. According to media reports, NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Corporation) had received the Home Ministry approval for the auction and same will be formally discussed before the council today. The stock ended with a loss of 4.3 per cent at Rs. 109.

HMT slumped over 12 per cent to Rs. 44.35 on the back of negative news flow.

According to media reports, the Union Government has decided to shut down five of 65 sick loss making companies, which includes three subsidiaries of HMT as soon as possible.

Zicom Electronic Security Systems soared nearly 12 per cent to a high of Rs. 181 on RBI for hike in FII investment limit. According to reports, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that PIO/NRIs (foreign investors) can buy up to 24 per cent stake in the company. The stock finally ended 2.8 per cent higher at Rs. 166.

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